Biology

Chemical biologist and entrepreneur Carolyn Bertozzi awarded $500,000 Lemelson-MIT PrizeLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of California, Berkeley scientist honored for biotechnology innovations

Giving proteins a new glowMIT chemists have designed a way to fluorescently label proteins that could shed light on protein functions never before seen.

More precise food-allergy diagnosesIt turns out that many people mistakenly think they have food allergies. A new technology aims to erase all doubt.

MIT awarded 3 HHMI grants to promote excellence in science educationDrennan, Walker named HHMI Professors

Exposing collagen's double lifeDiscovery that the rigid structural protein can switch to a floppy shape could lead to new treatments for heart disease.

Stubbe wins prestigious Welch AwardProfessor of chemistry and biology honored for her work on enzymes involved in DNA and RNA synthesis

Rapid analysis of DNA damage now possibleTechnology offers a new way to test potential cancer drugs, detect effects of hazardous agents in our environment.

Why cancer drugs lose their powerMIT biologists show how tumors can become resistant to the commonly used chemotherapy drug cisplatin.

Weighing the cellMIT biological engineers devise a way to measure, for the first time, how single cells accumulate mass.

Three from MIT win Gates scholarships

To starve a tumorMIT’s Matthew Vander Heiden is part of a new generation of cancer researchers trying to exploit cancer cells’ strange metabolism.

NIMH Director Tom Insel on AutismHosted by the Simons Initiative on Autism and the Brain at MIT

A change of mindOne protein appears to control neurons’ ability to react to new experiences, MIT scientists show.

Bacteria divide like clockworkMIT researchers show how circadian rhythms in bacteria control their rate of reproduction.

Gaining visibility into campus buildings’ real-time energy performance

‘Micro-ants’: Tiny conveyor belts for the 21st centuryA new method of moving tiny particles using magnetic polymer beads and magnetic fields could find uses in microchips and in medicine

How to encourage big ideasA new study suggests certain types of funding — which provide more freedom and focus less on near-term results — lead to more innovative and influential research.

Two from MIT win Marshall ScholarshipsSeniors Tanya Goldhaber and Vinayak Muralidhar will pursue graduate studies in Britain beginning next year.

ET: Check your voicemailNew message beamed to the stars commemorates Earth’s first attempt to reach out to intelligent aliens

Three MIT students are Rhodes ScholarsA record year for U.S. students at the Institute

Of Note: Biologist Ploegh to discuss H1N1 at MIT Museum’s ‘Soap Box’

Energy researchers find Obama an eager studentIn the President's visit to MIT labs he showed keen interest, quick understanding and warm appreciation, say his hosts

Two from MIT elected to the Institute of MedicineProfessor of Economics Amy Finkelstein and Tyler Jacks, director of the Koch Institute, join arm of the National Academies of Science.

Of note: Biology department hosting Vertex Day

3 Questions: Phillip Sharp calls for 'New Biology' pushThe U.S. needs an ambitious biology research initiative to tackle broad challenges involving food, energy, the environment and health, says Nobel laureate.

In Profile: Leonard GuarenteBiology professor discovered a gene at the center of aging. Now that research is yielding therapies that target the diseases of old age.

New genomics institute is for the children, director saysEli & Edythe Broad give $100M to create institute with MIT, Harvard, and Whitehead to fulfill genome's promise for medicine